Sapient Capital LLC Takes Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $781,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Avion Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total transaction of $486,128.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 63,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,309,294.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,048 shares of company stock worth $13,336,846 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL traded down $0.03 on Friday, reaching $92.88. The company had a trading volume of 5,432,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,878,342. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $67.62 and a 1 year high of $93.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.21.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.44.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.